Don't Let It End With You
by darkaccalia520
Summary: Gift!fic for Lexik for her participation in the 2015 The Reviews Lounge, Too Scavenger Hunt. A kindly old man teaches Celes an important lesson. FFVI AU. One-shot. *COMPLETE*


**A/N: Gift!fic for Lexik for all her participation in The Reviews Lounge, Too 2015 Scavenger Hunt. Lexi, I wrote this completely fandom blind, so I hope it's okay. To the rest of you, if the characters are butchered, I am terribly sorry.**

 **Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VI and its characters are not my creation. I am only borrowing them for a bit and promise to return them in their original condition and maybe just a bit happier.**

 **Don't Let It End With You**

Celes swore under her breath as her beeping alarm pulled her from her sleep. Waking up in the morning told her it was just one day closer to...

A knock at the door interrupted her train of thought. She opened it to see Edgar Figaro, her landlord. He gave her a slight grin. "Just woke up, I see."

She ran a hand through her mussed blonde hair. Edgar had always had a bit of a crush on her, but now wasn't the time for flirting. Besides, she expected she knew exactly why he was there. He'd given her an eviction notice weeks before, and time was running out. He'd offered her a payment plan, which she hadn't managed to meet.

"Today is payday," she told him. "I can make a payment today."

"But you've got other bills to pay," he countered. "How much of that would go to me?"

She lowered her gaze, not offering a reply.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "You see, the thing with a payment plan is you actually need to stick with it. You know that at the end of this month -"

"I know," she said with a nod. "If I can't pay, don't worry. I'll gladly go." She glanced at the clock. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for work."

 _-FFVI-_

"Welcome to the madhouse," Terra Branford, her friend and coworker, said the moment Celes walked into the corner diner.

Celes glanced out of the waitress' station and into the restaurant, which was pretty packed. Normally, she'd be annoyed, but she couldn't help but smile. "At least the tips should be good today."

"Eh, so-so," her friend replied. She pulled out a wad of cash from her apron and counted it. "Twenty-five bucks in two hours? I've done better."

"And I've done worse," Celes replied, tying an apron around her waist. "So now that I'm here, you just want to take turns or split into sections?"

"Taking turns is fine with me. You can get the next customer."

"Sounds great to me," Celes replied, grabbing a towel and going to wipe counters so she could be ready when hungry people walked through the door.

Sure enough, a short time later, an elderly gentleman walked through the doors.

"Hello, there. How many?"

"Just one, today, please," the man replied, glancing around at the tables. "May I sit by the window, please?"

"You sure can," she said with a smile and led him to the table. She then handed him a menu and was just about to tell him the specials when he shook his head.

"Just coffee today, please."

She nodded, trying not to let her smile fade. "Coming right up." As she moved to retrieve his order, she couldn't help but sigh. Coffee-only customers didn't normally yield large tips. Then again, it was only the start of her shift. She tried to remain positive as she brought him his drink. "Here you are. I'll come back to check on you in a little while, but if you need anything before then, you be sure to let me know."

"I will, thank you."

Celes quickly went back to what she'd been doing before in hopes some new customers would be in for her soon, but that wasn't the case. Granted, there was always a bit of a lull mid-morning, but it always picked up around lunch time. More customers came in, but the large groups seemed to go to Terra, by luck of the rotation.

"How about you take that group?" Terra suggested after a group of four came in.

A brow rose. "You don't want them? But it's your turn."

"I know; I just thought... You keep being hit with all the single 'just coffee' drinkers. Doesn't seem fair."

Celes shook her head. "It's fine. That's how it goes some days. You know that. Besides, I'm sure it'll pick up soon."

"You're sure?"

She nodded. "Thanks anyway." Celes knew Terra was just trying to be nice, but she didn't take too kindly to accepting charity either. She'd gotten herself into this predicament. Somehow, she was going to get herself out.

 _-FFVI-_

Forty-five minutes later, Celes had earned around five dollars in tips, but her elderly man by the window was on his fourth cup, so maybe he'd give her a bit more than she expected. Not only that, her luck seemed to be looking up because she'd now had a table of six. She put on her best smile and worked her magic, being sure to be as pleasant and kind as possible.

After placing their orders, Terra found her. "Since it's kind of slow right now, I'm going to take my break, okay?"

"Fine with me," Celes told her. "Do your tables need anything?"

"No, they both have their checks and should be leaving soon. Do you mind cleaning up for me, though?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Lord knows Terra had done it for her before.

After Terra's customers had left, Celes did as she'd been asked, all while being attentive to her group of six and her elderly man, who had refused a fifth cup of coffee. She moved to place his check on his table and asked,"Is there anything else I can get for you today?"

"No thank you. Your pleasant demeanor has done my heart more than you know. I hope you have a wonderful day."

"You, too. You be sure to come see me again sometime." He handed her the money for his coffee and left. She glanced over at the table, trying to guess how much he'd left her for a tip when the kitchen bell rang, telling her the meal for her group of six was ready. She'd have to deal with the tip later, it seemed.

 _-FFVI-_

After tending to her group of six and finishing Terra's tables, Celes finally had a free moment to clean up the table by the window. She knew she'd seen something shiny and gold lying there, but when she approached the table, she felt extremely disappointed. There was something shiny and gold there all right, but it was a gold foil-wrapped chocolate coin placed on top of a napkin where he's left a note: _Don't let it end with you._

This had to have been some kind of joke. She rifled through the crumpled up napkins and sugar packet wrappers left on the table, hoping to find something of value there, only to come up empty-handed. She looked at the napkin note again, her brow furrowing. What the hell did it mean?

"Uh, miss?"

She looked up from the note, seeing that the group of six needed her. "Be right there," she called, trying to put her smile back on. She stuffed the coin and note into her apron, realizing that this just wasn't her day after all.

 _-FFVI-_

"No, no, no, no!" Celes muttered to herself just as Terra had come back in from her break.

Terra placed a hand on her friend's arm. "What's the matter?"

"My group of six; they didn't leave me a tip," she grumbled. "I don't know what I did wrong. I was pleasant, I smiled, and I didn't spill a thing."

"Maybe the problem wasn't you. Ever think they might have just been jerks?" Terra offered.

"I guess. Or maybe they just forgot." She sighed. "Of course, it has to be when I need the cash the most, though."

"Still dealing with the rent issue?"

"Yes," Celes replied, holding up a hand. "And I know you've offered to help, but I don't need it. I...I can get myself out of this."

"And you're doing such a bang-up job, too," Terra said flatly.

"Be that as it may, this is my problem, and I want to deal with it myself...though I do appreciate the offer."

"You're very welcome, but I won't force you." She nodded her head towards the sidewalk outside. "Though it looks like you're going to have a new customer.

Celes followed her gaze and noticed Cid Del Norte Marquez, an old friend of hers. He'd known her since she was a little girl and even helped raise her. She thought of him as her second father. Despite her foul mood, she couldn't help but smile when he walked through the diner door, almost as if he'd known she needed him.

"I was wondering where a guy could get some good service around her," he greeted, holding out his arms for a hug to which she obliged.

"I'm so glad to see you," she gushed before pulling away to fetch him a menu. "Where would you like to sit?"

"Anywhere you are," he said. "I was hoping you could sit me for a bit. You are allowed breaks here, yes?"

She glanced hopefully at Terra, who nodded her permission.

"For a little while," she said with a nod. "But first, can I get you something to drink?"

"Coffee, please."

Celes went to get two cups of coffee and moved to sit at the table by the window where Cid had chosen.

"So how are things?" he asked her, pouring milk into his cup and giving it a stir.

"Fine," she said. "I can't complain. Work is good; my friends are good."

"And your living situation?"

She shrugged. "That might be changing soon."

"Money issues?" he guessed with a frown.

"You could say that. It...it's not that I haven't tried. I work as much as I can. I just don't have the best luck with tips."

"If you needed help, why didn't you just ask?" He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

She put up a halting hand. "Because I don't need it."

"But, Celes, I -"

"I know, but this is _my_ problem. I'll deal with it. So what if my last two tables stiffed me?"

He scoffed. "I can't believe some people are so stingy."

She shrugged. "Well, I should take that back. One table stiffed me; the other..." She pulled out the chocolate coin and the note. "He left me this, but hell if I know what it means."

Cid studied the coin and note before giving her a smile. "This is more special than you know, actually."

"It...it is? But it's just a worthless chocolate coin and a note that I don't understand."

He held up a finger. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. It's not worthless at all. Well, let me rephrase. Sure, it's just a bit of chocolate, but it's what it _represents_ that's important."

Her brow furrowed. "You mean you understand the note?"

"Indeed. As you know, chocolate coins are given out at Christmas or for other religious holidays to children. But they also represent wealth and luck."

"So is that what the note meant? That I'm not supposed to let wealth and luck end with me?"

"You didn't look at the coin very well, did you?"

"I had other tables to attend to," she muttered.

"Take a good look at it and tell me what you see," he said, passing to her.

It looked like most chocolate coins she'd seen, meant to mimic a real coin with an emblem and some lettering printed around the outside corner. At the top of the coin, however was the word 'love' printed in bold letters. Her eyebrows knitted together as she exchanged a glance with Cid. "You don't think..."

"That's exactly what I think. He was giving you a message."

"I wish he'd have given me a message with real money instead."

He sighed. "Maybe he didn't have it. Did you ever think that maybe...just maybe...he gave you all he had?"

"The guy came in and drank four cups of coffee. If he didn't have money, why would he come here in the first place?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but coffee here is only what? A dollar? With free refills, right? I know it's all speculation, and you'll probably never know whether it's true or not, but I think it's kind of a comforting thought, don't you?"

She took a drink of her coffee, not offering him a response. "My break's about over. Have you decided what you'd like to eat?"

 _-FFVI-_

For the rest of her shift, Celes thought about what Cid had said. She wasn't sure she could believe it, but she did consider the possibility. Ironically, her tips did get a little better, but she wasn't going to attribute that to a chocolate coin. Even if chocolate coins did mean luck and wealth, she wasn't going to believe that just because someone had given her one, her fortune was going to change at the drop of a hat.

Half an hour before the end of her shift, an older woman came in and ordered just coffee. _Oh, great; another coffee-only customer. See, that coin doesn't mean anything after all._ Still, Celes tried to be kind and smile, because that was her job. When she noticed the woman had nearly finished, she brought over the pot of coffee to fill her cup, but the woman waved a hand.

"No, thank you, dear. Just bring me the check."

"Right away, ma'am."

After setting the check at the table, the woman handed her a one hundred dollar bill. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything smaller."

Celes nodded. "I'll be back in just a minute with your change." The moment she returned the table, however, the woman was gone. On a napkin, she'd left a note: _I've been where you've been. Just don't let it end with you._

Celes couldn't believe it. How in the world could that woman have known? And did she know about the man and the chocolate coin?

As the new server came in to relieve her, she realized she couldn't spend the rest of the day trying to figure it out. She had to run to the bank to cash her check before it closed. However, she soon realized with the extra money from tips and her paycheck, she would be able to make a substantial payment on her rent. Maybe she'd be able to work something out with Edgar after all.

She couldn't help but feel much happier on her way home that evening. And she had to admit that it was quite possible Cid was right; maybe not about the elderly man, but about the coin itself. As she was walking by the park, however, she noticed someone on the park covered in newspaper. A slight shiver from the cool autumn air ran down her spine as she realized he looked familiar. _It couldn't be, could it?_

She carefully approached the bench and saw that it indeed was the elderly man. "Excuse me, sir?"

He sat up, looking alarmed and embarrassed. "I know you...from the diner. I...I am terribly sorry I couldn't have given you more. I've fallen on some hard times, and -"

She put an arm around his shoulders and noticed he was shivering. "Don't worry about it. Listen, do you have a place to stay tonight?"

He shook his head. "I was going to go to the shelter, but they're pretty packed there. I had found a dollar on the street, and it had been so long since I've been able to just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee at a restaurant..."

"There's no need to explain," she told him, taking him by the arm. "I don't have much either, but I'll help you any way I can."


End file.
